Rifles having slings



April 15, 1958 P. l.. cREsTE 2,830,747

RIFLES HAVING sLINGs Filed Oct. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'IH/n..

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mmtoz PAUL Lou/5 @RESTE April 15, 1958 P. L. CRL-:STE 2,830,747

RIFLES HAVING sLINGs Filed oct. 5, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 2 .f .llllllll 17) :l Il

:51 PAUL off/ s @RESTE I El I (mfc S` United States Patent() RIFLES HAVING SLINGS Paul Louis Creste, Aron, France Application October 5, 1954, Serial No. 460,353 claims priority, application France october s, 1953 1 Claim. (Cl. 224-1) The present invention is directed to rifles and more particularly to rifle slings.

In ries which have been constructed hitherto and which have a carrying strap or sling, the sling is in the form of a strip of nonstretchable material such as leather or fabric.

When the weapon is not intended to be suspended from the shoulder, the sling is so adjusted as tobe of a shorter length whereas, on the other hand, when the weapon is to be carried over the chest, the sling is adjusted to its maximum length. The result is that when it is desired to change the rifle from one state of carriage to arlother, it is necessary to adjust the length of the sling and, as the case may be, either lengthen the latter or shorten it. This is an operation which, although simple, represents nevertheless a disadvantage and is, at the same time, a cause of lost time.

The object of the present invention is to reduce or substantially eliminate this disadvantage. v

According to the present invention the carrying strap or sling is longitudinally elastic so as to adapt itself automatically to the various methods of carriage to which the Weapon is liable to be subjected; this sling has therefore, Y

in its normal state, a length corresponding to that necessary for the correct carriage of the weapon in repose. Moreover, when the weapon is either suspended from the shoulder or carried over the chest, it is automatically lengthened by the desired amount, therefore, without the user of the weapon having to perform any action or carrying out any adjustment.

When the weapon is withdrawn either from the shoulder or the chest, the extensible sling naturally contracts and returns to its original length.

Independently of this advantage, a rie fitted in accordance with the present invention may be instantly handled by its user in the manner required whether the weapon is to be suspended from the shoulder or carried across the chest or returned to its rack.

Moreover, the elasticity of the extensible sling overcomes the inconvenience and the dangers caused by a slack sling.

The present invention is capable of various methods of construction.

A sling in accordance with the present invention may be constituted by for example,

(a) A strap of elastic material;

(b) An elastic braid; or

(c) A solid strap constructed of elastic material.

When the sling is of fabric or braid, this fabric or braid may be constructed by means of any natural or artificial textile material, for example, natural or syn thetic rubber.

Of course, the texture is made suiciently resistant so that the weight of the weapon, whether the latter is suspended from the shoulder or carried baldric-wise may be sustained without abnormal fatigue.

If the sling has to be subjected to high and frequently r" ICC repeated stresses it is preferably made of a fabric containing highly resistant materials, such as linear super-polyamide, woven glass and synthetic rubbers insoluble in solvents.

'When the strap is made of an elastic material only, it may be formed of natural or of synthetic rubber.

At each of its ends, the elastic sling may be attached to the rie in any desired manner. For example, where a sling is of fabric or braid, at each of its ends the sling may be provided with a tongue of non-elastic ma terial, for example, of leather by which it is attached to the Weapon or the sling may be made with a tongue of elastic material, this tongue being preferably formed in one piece with this same sling, such a sling and its tongues being then manufactured by moulding.

In the case of a sling provided with an attachment tongue at each of its ends, this tongue may be constructed with two button-holes so that, after said tongue has been passed through an attachment ring on the weapon, said tongue may be connected to this ring by means of a double-headed stud passing through said two button-holes.

Similarly, in accordance with the present invention, at each of its ends the sling maynot be attached to the weapon by means of a tongue having button-holes, but by ametal buckle mounted on said sling and provided With a hook engaging in a ring carried on the rie so as to connect said sling to the Weapon by simple engagement of this hook in this ring. Then, the mounting of this buckle on the sling may be elected by any suitable means: stitching, metal prongs, rivets etc.

The present invention also comprises, as a separate article, any elastic sling for a rifle.

The invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing one form of rie provided with a sling of elastic fabric made with attachment ltongues of leather and having button-holes;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same rie;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the sling of the same rifle;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a rifle fitted with a sling having a pronged buckle mounting device for each end of the sling;

Fig. 5 is a bottom View of the rifle of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the sling of the rie of Fig. 4 on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a rubber sling having end tongues of rubber moulded in one piece with this sling.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by similar reference characters, numeral 1 designates 'a rifle of any known type with a butt 2 and barrel 3 provided with a sling 4. The sling is formed in this case of a strip of elastic material, the width of which is that of a normal riile sling, although it may be dilerent therefrom. At its ends this sling is provided with tongues 5 and 6, preferably of a non-extensible material, such as leather.

Each of these tongues is constructed with two buttonholes and has a width allowing it to be slid into the corresponding hinged buckle of the butt or barrel of the rie. In Fig. 3, numerals 7 and 8 designate the button-holes of the tongue 5, and the numerals 9 and 10 those of the tongue 6.

When the sling is mounted, a stud 11 passes through the two button-holes 7 and 8 connects this tongue 5 to the ring 12 hinged to the butt 2 and a similar stud 13 passing through the two button-holes 9 and 10 of the tongue 6 ensures the connection of tongue 6 ori/the ring 14 of the rie barrel.

As stated, the sling may also be'attached to the rifle by any other method.

3 in Figs. 4 to 6 which disclose another method of attachment of the ends of the elastic strip 4 forming the sling, there is attached by stitching 15 a buckle 16 formed of a metal wire. This buckle 16 is provided with a hook 1'? engaging in the corresponding ring 18 of the butt and l at the opposite end of the strips 4 a metal buckle 19 similar to the buckle 16 and held by stitching 20 is provided with a prong 21 engaging in the corresponding riiie ring 22 of the barrel.

The length of this sling 4 including that of the buckles 16 and 19 and of their hooks 17 and 21. is, in the free condition, slightly less than the space between the two rings 18 and 22 with the result that, slightly stretching this sling, it is possible to engage its two hooks 17 and 21 in the rings 1S and 22 and, when this is done, the sling is released, with the result that, after contraction, the hooks 17 and 21 are retained in the rings 18 and 22, the strip 4 being thus bolted to the weapon itself.

The sling shown in Fig. 7 is a sling consisting of a single piece of moulded rubber, the centre part 4 of which is integral with the end tongues 23 and 24 provided, like the connected tongues 5 and 6 of the sling in Fig., 3, with the button-holes 25 and 26 on the one hand, and 27 and 23 on the other hand. The mounting of this sling on the rifle is effected in the manner shown in 2 Figs. 1 and 2, with the -aid of studs passed through the button-holes.

What I claim is:

In a rie which is to be carried by hand, suspended 4 from the shoulder and against the body, carried over the chest and against the body, and having a pair of rings hingedly connected to said tie, a sling for said rifle comprising a strap including a resisting and longitudinally extensible part along, at least, the major portion of its length, said sling being fixed at one of its ends to one of said rings at the butt and at its opposite end to the said barrel ring of said rie and being, when said rie is at rest or being red, substantially in a straight line without any substantial tension, the extensibility of said sling allowing an elastic suspension of the rifle against the body when it is suspended from the shoulder and when it is carried over the chest, said sling being .made

'of extensible textile material and means provided at each of the ends of said sling for connecting said ends to said rie.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,323,701 Lethern Dec. 2, 1919 1,571,823 Weaver Feb. 2, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 26,373 Great Britain Nov. 21, 1906 479,442 Great Britain Feb. 7, 1938 

